Love Is Unexpected
by WhyCantIFindAName
Summary: (Sonadow) In this gay love story, Sonic has a secret crush on Shadow. When confronted with reality, what does he realize? Rated T for mild language


(Author's Note: This is a LOVE story, not a hot jerk-off sex story with explicit details. Please look elsewhere if that's what you're here for. Anyway, this is a story I wrote in my spare time over the summer. This is my first story in a pretty long time. I have no clue if it's any good. Feedback would be appreciated!)

EDIT (10/13/2013): I have re-written the ending. I hope it seems less rushed.

* * *

Sonic clenched his eyes shut. He sighed deeply. The white fog that escaped his throat drifted away in the cold, stale air around him. It was just an ordinary snowless night in December. Sonic was sitting on the rooftop of Tails' workshop. His legs dangled off the edge with his arms relaxed. His eyes stared aimlessly at the star-filled sky. This behavior was now a regular thing for the blue hedgehog. Sonic had been spending time alone for a while. He was spending the weekend at Tails' place to relax.

As Sonic sat on the rooftop, he couldn't help but just think about things. Sonic was almost always in deep thought about life in general. Thoughts circled his mind, holding him hostage. He thought so much that it gave him a headache. _Get a hold of yourself_ the cobalt hedgehog thought to himself.

The front door of the workshop opened. Tails slowly walked out to the front of the yard. He was dragging a coat in his hands. "Sonic? Aren't you cold?" Tails asked innocently. Sonic looked down at the young fox. He managed a weak smile. "I'm good, little buddy. I just need some time alone, okay?" Tails looked worried. "Sonic, you've been spending time alone all week. Is something wrong?" Sonic didn't reply. He turned away from Tails and dropped his head between his knees.

Tails wanted to respect his older brother's privacy, but he was concerned. Did something bad happen? Is he in trouble? Does he regret something? Tails shook his head. Giving one last glance at Sonic, he walked back inside the workshop. He sauntered over to the coffee maker and turned it on. Then he walked over to the phone sitting at his desk. Scrolling through the contacts, he came across Knuckles' number. Tails pressed the 'talk' button and held the phone to his ear. Within the first two rings, Knuckles answered with an annoyed grunt.

"Tails *sigh* I'm a bit busy right now. Besides, I already agreed to help you build your damn plane prototype."

"Relax, Knuckles. It's something else. I've been worried about Sonic, lately. Do you know what's been going on?"

"Oh, Sonic? …Yeah. He **has** been a bit down lately ."

"Yeah, I've noticed. He's been isolating himself here in the Mystic Ruins for a long time. I don't have a clue what the deal is."

"Now that I think about it… I heard him mumbling something about Shadow in Station Square the other day."

"What happened?"

"Who knows? Maybe Sonic actually **lost** a race with him."

"That could be possible," Tails laughed, "thanks, Knuckles. I'll have to give Shadow a call, then."

"You sure you don't want me to beat him up?"

"Not unless he's done something wrong." Tails said with a shrug. They both hung up. **BEEP**. The coffee maker was done with its fresh pot. Tails grabbed a coffee mug and poured himself a drink. Holding the mug in his hand, Tails curiously scrolled through the contacts, this time looking for Shadow's number. Surprisingly, Shadow wasn't in there. Slightly irritated, Tails threw the phone aside and pulled out his address book. He eventually came across Shadow's address after flipping through the vast number of pages. It said that Shadow's temporary 'home' is an apartment in Station Square. Tails remembered that Shadow wanted to take some time off after working on another mission with GUN. He was usually never seen by anyone. Tails decided that a brief visit was a bit overdue. After setting his mug down and tucking the book under his arm, Tails grabbed his coat and walked out the door.

As he walked outside, Tails stared at the rooftop. Sonic was still turned away, with faint sobbing noises echoing. Tails jogged over to the ladder behind the workshop and climbed up. Sonic didn't even notice him approaching. Tails noticed that Sonic was shivering. Without hesitation, Tails took off his coat and wrapped it around Sonic's trembling body. Sonic formed a tight grip on the warmth surrounding him. He slowly looked up at Tails' sorrowful face. Tails noticed that Sonic's eyes were red. "Go inside, Sonic. I have a fresh pot of coffee for you… and maybe a couple of chili dogs in the fridge." Tails said quietly with a smile. He held out his hand and helped Sonic up.

Sonic mildly smiled back. "Thanks, Tails. I really appreciate this." Sonic eyed the book under the young fox's arm. "What's with the address book? Are you going somewhere?" Sonic asked curiously. Tails was unsure whether or not to tell Sonic about his visit to Shadow's place.

"I'll be back soon. I just have to run a couple of errands," Tails said quickly.

"I have some tools you can use for your plane, if you need it."

"It's not that. I'll be back soon, I promise. Then maybe we can watch a movie or something."

"Oh, okay. Take all the time you need, little buddy."

Tails smiled again and motioned for Sonic to climb down the ladder. Sonic climbed down and Tails climbed after him. Sonic, still shivering, opened the front door and embraced the warm air. Tails stayed put, thinking about Shadow. He was unsure whether or not Shadow was the cause of Sonic's behavior. Nevertheless, Tails decided to take the chance of asking. He would do just about anything to figure out what's wrong. Tails gave one last look at Shadow's address. Without further thinking, Tails flew off to the horizon.

Within 15 minutes, Tails was hovering over the heads of civilians in Station Square. Tails was a bit confused where exactly the apartment building was located. Tails looked left and right. _It should be right here_ the young fox thought to himself. Looking ahead, an old beat-up building was in front of him. The faded sign _503 Station Square Avenue_ _Apartments_ was crudely nailed to the door. Tails sighed. He gave a good look at the building. Eventually, something caught his eye. Looking up, Tails saw a light flicker on in one of the top floor windows. A figure appeared. Tails cautiously flew up a few feet higher and the figure became clearer. It was Shadow!

Tails inched closer and closer to the window. Shadow looked very tired, his left arm supporting his head. He was sitting in a chair in front of the window. His eyelids drooped as he stared at the city lights. Tails carefully tapped on the window to get Shadow's attention. Shadow's head snapped in Tails' direction. Tails waved happily. Shadow rolled his eyes and reluctantly opened the window. "What do you want, fox?" Shadow asked impatiently. "Sorry, Shadow. Do you have a minute? It'll be quick, I promise." Tails responded quickly. With an annoyed grunt, Shadow got out of his chair and stepped aside for Tails to fly in. Tails flew inside the small window. He noticed that Shadow's room was a complete mess. Uneaten food and worn clothes were scattered around the place. Tails ignored the unsettling sight and focused his attention on Shadow, who was tapping his foot impatiently.

"Don't keep me waiting. What is it?" Shadow snapped.

"Uh, Shadow… you see… uh…"

"Spit it out, you two-tailed nuisance."

"…Fine. I'm going to be a bit blunt, ok? It's about Sonic, and…"

"Faker? What about the little runt?"

"Well, Sonic hasn't been himself during the past couple of days and I wondered if you had anything to do with it."

"I have done nothing to the little Faker. I haven't seen him at all. Not since our little fiasco with Eggman a while ago."

Tails' eyes lit up. "What happened back then? What did you two do?"

"A while ago, Sonic and I met up somewhere in the jungle and we caught Eggman plotting another scheme. In a nutshell, the two of us saved the day. From what I remember, Sonic and I were arguing about something… I don't remember what it was about. The argument got so intense that we wrestled a bit."

Tails was having trouble putting the pieces together. "I'm not making any sense of this. Never-mind, Shadow, you probably don't have anything to do with this."

"Thank you for wasting my valuable time. It's not like I care about the faker, anyway." Shadow yawned.

Tails turned to Shadow. His eyebrows dropped down in an angry stare. "You don't have to be a jerk, Shadow."

"What are you talking about, Tails?"

"You're acting like an ass. I don't know if you heard me earlier, but Sonic is depressed. He's acting like nothing in life matters anymore. He doesn't even call me his 'little brother' anymore. Don't you understand? Sonic is my friend. He's **your** friend. He's everyone's friend. Tell me, Shadow. What if something awful happens to him? What will you say then? Will you still not care? Shadow, I know you're not a social butterfly… but deep down there has to be some piece of your heart that cares about Sonic. Even just a little bit."

Shadow stood up angrily as if to defend himself. He shook his fist at Tails and attempted to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth. It took a few seconds for the words to sink in. Shadow dropped his hand and thought about what Tails said. What if he really did care?

Tails sighed and rubbed his forehead with his hand. "Listen, Shadow. I know it's late, but can you come back to the workshop with me and at least say hello? For Sonic's sake? Maybe it'll make him feel better."

Shadow shrugged. It **was **getting a bit late. However, just to please Sonic and Tails, he considered going back with him. He pinched himself to stay awake. "Fine. I'll go with you. But I'm taking the train to the Mystic Ruins, all right? I'm too tired to run." Tails nodded in response. Without any more communication, Shadow grabbed his jacket and headed out of his apartment door. Tails climbed out of the window and flew away into the night.

Back at the workshop, Sonic was enjoying the warm sensation of the coffee slithering down his throat. Sonic rubbed his temples, attempting to ease the pain from his headache. He was thinking too much. Sonic couldn't decide if he was too worried, over-analyzing, or just plain paranoid about his feelings… feelings for… Shadow.

Sonic never felt so powerfully infatuated with anyone before, let alone a _boy. _Sonic was embarrassed because, after all, he thought he liked _girls_. A lot of the girls (Amy included) would always swoon over Sonic and his heroic character. Would this new crush destroy his reputation?

Speaking of which, Sonic was worried about the other people. What would society think? Or the tabloids? Or worst of all… his parents? Society for the most part would be shocked. The tabloids would go absolutely nuts if anything was revealed. His parents would probably hate him for the rest of his life. All these thoughts created a thunderstorm of confusion in Sonic's mind. He nearly couldn't take it any longer. He took another sip of his coffee. Sonic clenched his eyes and fists in frustration. He couldn't help it, though. His feelings for Shadow were almost unconditional.

Sonic had a flashback of when he first started feeling this way about Shadow. Some time ago, he and Shadow were in the jungle after defeating Eggman.

"_You fool! Why did you let Eggman get away?" Shadow asked furiously. "What are you talking about, Faker? __**You**__ were the one who let him go!" Sonic responded angrily. Shadow sneered and charged at Sonic through the trees of the jungle. He hit Sonic dead-on in the head. Sonic flew backwards and his body slammed against a boulder. After struggling to stand back up, Sonic charged back at Shadow. The two of them clashed into each other, forming a cloud of dust around them. They wrestled there on the ground. Shadow threw multiple punches and jabs at once. Sonic managed to dodge every one of them. Shadow growled in frustration and swept Sonic off his feet. In the nick of time, Shadow jumped and landed on Sonic's stomach whilst pinning his arms down._

_The two of them panted frantically. As the dust cloud faded away, Sonic and Shadow looked at each other. Crimson red clashed with emerald green. Shadow's and Sonic's faces were merely centimeters apart. Their breathing slowed down. Sonic was mesmerized by Shadow's figure hovering over him. He stared into Shadow's beautiful ruby eyes. The mere glow of the sun shining behind Shadow outlined his body. It sent Sonic's heart ablaze. Sonic's heart was pounding so hard he could nearly faint. He was speechless at the sight of Shadow. "What are you looking at, Faker?" Shadow snapped. Sonic could barely even speak. Shadow quickly stood up and dusted himself off. With a grunt, he turned around and walked off. "Let me know when you learn how to handle a situation!" Shadow shouted over his shoulder. Sonic watched Shadow's figure get smaller and smaller as he walked further away from him._

Sonic dropped his head on the table. "Pathetic." He mumbled to himself. He reached for his coffee mug when all of a sudden there was a knock on the door. Sonic nearly dropped his drink. He stumbled out of his chair and walked to the door. Looking through the peephole, Sonic could see Tails (obviously), and… Shadow!

Sonic jolted. He turned his back to the door with his arms stretched out. _Why is he here? Of all people, why him? _The blue hedgehog thought to himself. "Sonic? You there?" asked Tails from the other side. Sonic wiped the sweat from his forehead and shakily placed his hand on the doorknob. He slowly opened the door, focusing his eyes only on Tails. "Back so soon?" Sonic asked quietly. "Yeah, I'm back. I brought Shadow with me. Is that okay?" _No. It's NOT okay, you little twerp!_ Sonic thought to himself. "It's fine, little buddy. Thanks." Sonic replied, staring at the floor. Tails casually walked inside. Shadow followed right behind him, eyeing Sonic as he walked through the doorway.

Sonic didn't utter a single word to Shadow. Shadow walked over to a nearby chair and sat down. Sonic had never been so nervous in his life. Sonic gulped and took a seat across the room from Shadow. He looked down, trying very hard not to look at Shadow. Shadow noticed Sonic's strange behavior right away.

"So, can I get you guys anything? Tea? Coffee?" Tails asked.

"I'll have a glass of wine, if you have some." Shadow replied.

"I'll have to look. How about you, Sonic? More coffee?"

Sonic didn't even look up. "Sure, that's fine."

"All right, then! I'll be back soon. It might take a while, though. I might need to make a new pot of coffee." Tails said as he walked to his kitchen.

As the two-tailed fox left the room, Shadow took advantage of the situation and stared at Sonic. He noticed that the blue hedgehog was tapping his fingers nervously on his knee, with his head resting in his palm. Shadow curiously watched as Sonic refused to make eye contact, or even say hello. _Tails was right. He really is acting strange. I wonder what's wrong?_ The black hedgehog thought to himself. Without making a sound, Shadow got up from his chair. He silently walked over to where Sonic was seated. As he approached closer, Sonic subtly turned his head further away whilst his tapping fingers increased their speed. Shadow slowly placed his left hand over Sonic's tapping fingers. The tapping stopped.

"Just take a deep breath." Shadow said calmly. Sonic did what he was told. His heart was racing as his crimson crush towered over him. "Listen, Sonic. Tails told me all about your situation so far, and he… well, **we** want to know what's wrong. We're worried about you." Sonic panicked. He didn't know what to say to him. Should he confess? Should he make up an excuse?

Sonic bit his lip. Shadow patiently waited for Sonic to respond.

"I… I'm fine, Shadow. Don't worry."

"No, you're not. Don't lie to me. You can't go on like this."

Sonic wasn't sure what to say after that. The words 'Now or Never' cycled over and over again in his mind. Gathering up as much courage as he could muster, Sonic looked up at Shadow. The expression on Shadow's face looked… sad. Concerned. Worried. It was empowering to Sonic that Shadow cared for him. The two of them finally made eye contact. Shadow's illuminating eyes pierced through Sonic's. Sonic squeezed Shadow's hand, which was still covering his. Sonic took another deep breath and stared at Shadow. The two hedgehogs just stared at each other for a brief moment. It felt like a few seconds to Shadow. It felt like a millennium to Sonic.

All of a sudden, Sonic clenched his eyes shut and pushed Shadow's hand aside. "I can't do this." Sonic said, suddenly tearing up. He got out of his chair and took a few steps away from Shadow. He turned away from him, holding back sudden tears.

Shadow sadly watched as the cobalt hedgehog wiped his cheek. "Sonic? Can you…"

"No. I can't explain. It's too hard."

It broke Shadow's heart to see Sonic like this. True, the blue hedgehog can be an immature little brat sometimes. However, it hurt Shadow to see Sonic crumble to pieces like this. For a moment, Shadow almost considered Sonic a… friend. He was a friend that can be cocky and annoying, but also caring and loving. Shadow walked up behind Sonic. "Are you absolutely sure you can't tell me what's wrong?"

Sonic raced back and forth between _Yes _and_ No_. Before he could think about it a bit more, Sonic replied with "Yeah." Shadow's ears drooped in sorrow. He took a few steps toward Sonic and whispered "I'm sorry." Sonic nodded in response. "Thanks." Shadow rubbed his neck nervously. "Is there anything I can do, at least?"

Without thinking, Sonic immediately embraced Shadow in a hug. He wrapped his arms around Shadow's neck and buried his face in his torso. Shadow, though a bit surprised, returned the hug. The both of them held on to each other. Neither of them wanted to let go. As of then, all Shadow wanted to do was to keep Sonic safe. He assumed Sonic felt safe under his protection.

Sonic burst into tears. Shadow patted Sonic's back to comfort him. The two of them just stood there in the middle of the room and held on to each other. In between sobs, Sonic lifted his head up to Shadow's ear and whispered "I love you."

Shadow's eyes widened. He let go of Sonic and took a step back. Sonic stumbled backwards. The two of them were a few feet apart. Sonic, realizing what he just said, slowly placed his hand against his mouth. Sonic teared up even more. Trying to control his voice, Sonic said "Exactly. That's what I thought you would do." Shadow, taken aback, didn't know what to say. Words struggled to escape his throat. "Sonic… I… um… uh…" Sonic turned away from Shadow and walked out the door leading to the backyard. Shadow was left behind in shock.

All of a sudden Tails walked out of the kitchen. "Hey, Shadow. It turns out I did have wine! And Sonic, the coffee is…" Tails trailed off. He noticed that Sonic was gone. "Where's Sonic?" Shadow didn't know what to say or what to think. Sonic the Hedgehog, everyone's hero and his old enemy, just confessed that he had feelings for him. Shadow was completely speechless. "He walked away. I think he's outside in the yard."

Tails looked at Shadow suspiciously. "What did you say to him? What happened?" Shadow struggled to form a sentence. "Uh… he told me why he was sad lately…" Shadow said quietly. "Yeah? And?" Tails asked impatiently. "He… he…" Shadow couldn't answer Tails' question. Without hesitation, Shadow bolted across the room and out the door that Sonic went through.

The dark and bitter cold came in contact with Shadow's skin. Ignoring the temperature, Shadow scanned the area in hope of finding Sonic. There was no trace of him. Shadow ran around the building to the backyard. He stopped dead in his tracks. Sonic was just sitting down, staring at the ocean. Shadow took a deep sigh of relief and walked over to Sonic. He sat down next to the blue hedgehog. Sonic didn't say anything. His tears were frozen on his cheek. His eyes glistened in the moonlight as he observed the ocean view. Shadow looked out at the ocean, taking in the view with Sonic.

For a few moments, neither of them said anything to each other. They both stared at the moon-lit ocean for what seemed like an eternity. For a short time, neither of them knew what to say to each other. Shadow was still in shock, and Sonic was still embarrassed. Shadow looked at Sonic. He raised his hand and wiped away the frozen tears on Sonic's cheek. After a brief moment of silence, Sonic managed to speak.

"I'm sorry, Shadow."

Shadow raised his eyebrow. "What for? At least I know what's wrong. I thought it was something else… something worse."

"Well, it **is **pretty bad. I've been thinking a lot about this lately, Shadow."

"I know you have… I have to say, it's very brave of you to admit something like that."

Sonic nodded. "Thank you."

Shadow nervously crossed his arms. "...So is it true, then? You like me?"

Sonic waited for a few seconds and replied with a barely audible "Yes." He dropped his head in shame.

Shadow shook his head and lightly placed his hand on Sonic's shoulder. "It's all right, Sonic. It's just a little crush, right?"

Another tear rolled down Sonic's cheek. "No. It's not that simple. You don't understand. I **love** you. I'm in love with a **boy. **Think about it. What would people say?"

Shadow sighed. "Sonic, you shouldn't worry about them. After all, it's **your** life, not theirs…"

Sonic shrugged. "...I guess that's true."

"Exactly. I'm well aware that people can't seem to grasp the fact that we all live in different ways. Some may think people like you are terrible, 'sinful' people… But in reality… we're just human."

Sonic thought about what Shadow said. He was right. Sonic faintly smiled. He was feeling a bit more hopeful. "You're right... I know what's normal for me. I know what's natural. I know what makes me happy. It's just… this isn't easy for me, Shadow."

"I know. I'm glad you see my point." Shadow said as his hand lightly touched Sonic's. "I hate living in a world where we can't seem to accept each other. People are so cruel to the point where people kill themselves over things like this... but most of all, I'd hate to see **you** in the center of the hatred. You deserve much better, Sonic. You really do." Even Shadow began to tear up a bit.

Sonic took all those words in at once. Once again, Shadow was right. After another moment of silence, Shadow sighed and looked at Sonic. Sonic looked back. "Shadow, I really appreciate that you're taking this so well. I don't think I can thank you enough." Shadow smiled in response. They held each other's hands. "It's a cold world out there. I can only imagine how tough this is for you." Shadow said.

At that time, Sonic could only nod. He shivered. "I've forgotten how cold it is out here."

"Here," said Shadow, "I'll warm you up." Shadow pulled Sonic a little closer to him. Their warm embrace contrasted with the cold weather.

Sonic blushed. Their skin came in contact with each other. Their faces were merely inches apart. As time slowly went by, the two hedgehogs became more and more comfortable with each other.

Then Shadow did the unthinkable. He placed a hand on Sonic's cheek and pulled his face towards his. Shadow placed his lips softly on Sonic's. They kissed. Sonic froze. Shadow was kissing him? He could hardly believe it. The ultimate lifeform was actually kissing him. Sonic slowly returned the kiss. Their lips contacted and broke apart multiple times. As time went by, the kiss became more passionate. The two hedgehogs were in total bliss. Sonic's blood flowed rapidly through his cheeks, making him blush. Shadow faintly smiled through the kiss and moved his hands down from Sonic's cheeks to his waist. Sonic raised his hands up to Shadow's shoulders. Sonic was kissed with so much passion that he could see stars. He could feel Shadow's tongue run across his bottom lip. They opened their mouths and explored each other's mouths with their tongues. Shadow pulled Sonic closer to his body, deepening the kiss. Before the two of them went any further with it, their mouths drifted apart to catch a breath.

Sonic closed his eyes in amazement. Shadow, smiling, gently raised Sonic's chin to make eye contact. "Shadow… what was that for?" Sonic asked in confusion.

"I said you deserve much better. You deserve someone to love you in return." Shadow said with a warm smile.

Sonic widened his eyes. He was speechless for a second. "I want you to be happy, Sonic." said Shadow.

Sonic was a bit skeptical. "Shadow, I appreciate you doing this, but… what about **your** dreams and feelings? You probably don't feel the same way about me, do you?"

Shadow's smile disappeared. He briefly looked away from Sonic's gaze. "Listen, Sonic... I care for you. I want what's best for you. I'm not going to just leave you behind in the dust, am I? It's just... I... care about your happiness."

Sonic didn't know what to say to that. "But you don't love me in return?"

Shadow shrugged. Tearing up a bit, Sonic embraced Shadow in a warm hug.

_What am I doing?_ The black hedgehog thought to himself. _I'm not gay... but... Sonic needs me. I'll give him a chance. I have to give it time. I feel so sorry for him._

The feeling was bittersweet, but after the hug, The two hedgehogs smiled at each other again. "Thank you, Shadow." said Sonic. All of a sudden, a cold breeze blew at the two hedgehogs. Sonic shivered. Seeing this, Shadow held Sonic in his lap and crossed his arms for warmth. Sonic buried himself in Shadow's arms. The two of them stared back at the ocean, the moon brighter than ever.

To Be Continued


End file.
